Neckband-expanding device



C. L. BRALEY.

NECKBAND EXPANDING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED maze. 1915. RENEWED APR. 17, 19h. 1,381,058,

Painted June 7, 1921.

. SHEETS-SHEET I 71413 A FOR/VH5 C. L. BRALEY.

NECKBAND EXPANDING DEVICE.

APPLICA'HON FILED JAN.20, 1915. RENEWED APR. 17.1917.

Patented June 7 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

as! is;

P. lull IIVVENTOI? Cfmkal muwfi 5Z9 ATTOR/VEZ? UNITED S'E'A'E T FE Q CEMLES I1. BRALEY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR TO THE AMERICAN- LAUNDRY' MACHINERY CO., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO.

NECKBAND-EXPANDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 1921.

Application filed January 20, 1915, Serial an. 3,210. Renewed April 17, 1917. Seria1 No. 162,754.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES L. BRALEY, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Neckband- Expanding Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,iclear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,- and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My invention relates to neckband expanders of the type generally employed in connection with ironing boards for shirts, bosom presses and shirt ironing machines, in which provision is made for stretching the neckband of a. shirt and maintaining it in such stretched or. expanded 1 position, while the bosom and yoke of the shirt is ironed, andit has for its object to afiord an improved structure for this purpose, characterized by its adaptability or adjustability which enables its contour to be changed to form neckbands of different shapes; Another object of the invention is toaiford means in conjunction with an expander,

whereby the wrinkles which usually form at.

points adjacent to the neckband may be eliminated readily. The invention contemplates further structural features which contribute to the simplicity and practicability 'of the mechanism as well as the readiness with which the parts canbe operated when applying or removing a garment. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the structure with the parts positioned to form what is known as a round or natural shape neckband; V

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the same relation of parts, but expanded for a larger neckband, and with the wrinkle eliminating member in operating position;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation; V

Fig. 4 is a plan View showing the wings reversed, and the parts arranged to form neckband, depending on'the style of shirt and other requirements. At times, it may be required .to form the neckband into a round or natural shape,while at other times the neckband is formed into what is known as a Manhattan shape, characterized by straight tapering sides, the rear edge being extended, and dishedinwardly at the center. This style is especially popular in iroining new shirts for the trade, and a demand has grown up for an expanding device that can be changed to meet different conditlons.

Heretofore, it has been necessary to have two or more expanders for each board'or machine, in cases where 1t is desired to form the neckbands into more than one shape, and

it my purpose to provide an expanding device in which thewings-that'engage the rear part of the neckband may be difierently positioned, or else adjusted in such a .manner as to present surfaces that will shape the neckband in the particular form desired, and this can be'accomplished without it being necessary to remove the mechanism from the machine or press.

In the form of construction shown and described, which illustrates a preferred manner of carrying out the invention, 1 is a support such as an ironing board, or bosom board of an ironing machine, upon which the structure is mounted. The expanding device includes a pair of relatively fixed and movable members, the fixed member being fastened to the support 1, while the movable member is adjustable for engagementwith different sized neckbands- In some instances, the front portion of the expander is stationary while the rear portion is movable, while in other cases it is the rearportion which is fixed while the front portion is movable, The present improvements are applicable to either type of mechanism, and for convenience in illustrating the invention, I have shown the rear portlon as being fixed, while the forward portion is adjustable. The rear or fixedportion is designated at 2 and is fixedly mount-ed onthe board OII' support 1, which may be provided with padding 3 and a canvas covering 4.

"The fixed portion 2 carries a standard 5, to

which is attached a guide rod 6 for a purpose that will appear presently.

The front or movable portion of the ex panding device is designated at v7 and carries upstanding arms 8 and 9 provided with openings that engage the guide rod 6 on which the movable portion travels. ignates a clutch or looking member actuated by a spring 11 and having an opening which engages the guide rod 6. With the clutchin normal position, shown in Fig. 5, the movable portion is held in-adjusted position, and to effect further adjustment, the clutch is actuated toward the arm 8, against the force of spring 11. VVhen the clutch or locking member is thusreleased, the movable portion 7 is automatically returned to its normal position by means of a spring 12, which is connected between the movable portion and the fixed portion 2. The movable portion 7 is provided with a pair of sleeves 13 arranged in the manner shown, and const1- tuting guides for rods 14: on which the wings 15 are mounted. The wings 15 are adapted to engage the rear corner portions of the neckband and are adjustable laterally during the forward adjustment of the movable portion in order to expand the neckband.

Each of the wings 15 has an opening to receive the rod 14 and the outer portion of the sleeve 13, as shown in Fig. 6, when the parts are fully contracted. The wingis held on effected until the neckband is fully expandadjustable for this purpose. As a preferred 7 method of accomplishing this, I form two operatlve surfaces 19 and 20 on each wing,

the wing being reversible from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4 in order to employ either surface desired.

With the wings in the position shown in Fig.

1, thesurfaces 19 are used, forming a substantially round neckband, while the reversed I arrangement shown in Fig. 4: gives a shape corresponding to what is known as the Manhattan neckband, In order to permit this 10 desreversibility of the wings, each'is provided with the means already described for holding it on the rod 14, and it is only necessary to remove the wing and insert the rod mto the other end of the opening 'in which it is held. i V

In Fig. 7 is shown a modified form embodyinga wing21, having a flexible operating surface consisting of a plate 22 which may be. brought into closeengagement with the edge 23 or adjusted to differentv positions with relation thereto, to secure various degrees of curvature, the plate 22 being held in position by a screw 24; passing therethrough, and engaging a threaded opening in thewing. In Fig. ,8, another form is shown, consisting of a hinged portion 25, which carries the curved surface to engage the neckband, and may be swung on the body portion of the wing about the axis 26". The.

member 25 carries a slotted arm 27 with" engagement with the concave surface 29, and

is secured to the stationary portion 2 by a set screw 31. In order to provide for straightening the portion of'the shirt adjacent to. the neckband, particularly at the rear corner portions of the neckband, I provide wrinkle eliminating members that will now be described. In ironing-a shirt, when the neckband is positioned and expanded, there is a noticeable tendency on the part of theyoke portion to wrinkle, and it requires appreciable time and care on the part of the operator to adjust the shirt so as to remove these wrinkles, and in the majority of instances this is neglected, with the result that the garment is not properly finished. To overcome this, I employ a wrinkle eliminating member in the form of a finger 32, which is carried by a rotary post or pin 33 mounted in an opening in the wing and adapted to be turned by a knurled head 34 which is held on the post 33 by a remo e able cotter pin 35. Each wing is provided with two corresponding openings 36 and when the wing is reversed, the post 33" with the finger 32 may be positioned in the proper opening so as to bring it in position to engage the portion of the shirt adjacent to the corner of the neckband, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The finger 32"lies' adjacent to the plane of the lower edge of the expanding device, and engagesthe inside of the shirt in such a manner as to removeany small creases or wrinkles, by merely giving the knurled head 34 a partial turn, and repeating the operation if necessary.

The expanding device includes an inclined neckband engaging surface 37, and the forward or movable portion 7 is provided with an overlying flange 38 which is coextensive with the inclined surface 37, and serves to prevent the neckband from rising when it is once positioned. 89 is a recess to receive the button at the front of the neckband, the shank of which engages the slot 40, as usual in this class of devices.

While I have described a particular embodiment, the invention is not to be limited to one or more of the forms herein shown and described, as the improvement contemplates any means in connection with an ex-.

panding device, whereby an adjustment may be had to impart different shapes to neckbands, as distinguished from merely changing the size of the expanding device for larger or smaller neckbands.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a mov able portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment there with and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, the wings having oppositely disposed neckband engaging surfaces of different curvatures and means permitting reversal of the wings with relation to the aforesaid movable portion whereby different shapes may be imparted to neck bands.

2. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a movable portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment there with and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, the wings having differently curved neckband engaging surfaces, and means permitting changing the position of the wings to utilize either of said surfaces whereby to iron neckbands into different shapes.

3. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a movable portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment therewith and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, and means for varying the curvature of the neckband engaging surfaces of the wings, and a detachable block carried by one of the aforesaid portions and adapted to engage the rear of a neckband.

4. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a movable portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment therewith and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, the wings being adjustable to change the curvature of the neckband engaging surfaces, aconcave surface on one of the aforesaid portions for engaging a neckband, and a detachable block having a convex surface to engage said concave surface and adapted to engage the rear of a neckband when the wings are correspondingly adjusted.

5. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a movable portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment therewith and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, the wings including a plurality of neckband engaging surfaces of different curvatures for imparting different shapes to neckbands, a concave surface on one of the aforesaid portions for engaging the rear of a neckband, and a detachable block having a convex surface toengage said concave surface and adapted to engage the rear of a neckband when the wings are correspondingly adjusted.

6. In a neckband expanding device, the combination with a fixed portion and a movable portion, of wings operatively connected to the movable portion for adjustment there with and having engagement with the rear part of the neckband, the wings havingoppositely disposed neckband engaging surfaces of different curvatures, and means permitting reversal of the wings with relation to the aforesaid movable portion whereby different shapes may be imparted to neckbands, a con cave surface on one of the aforesaid portions for engaging the rear of a neckband, and a 7 detachable block having a convex surface to engage said concave surface andadapted to 100 engage the rear of a neckband when the wings are correspondingly adjusted. I

7 In combination with a neckband expanding device, a wrinkle eliminating member arranged thereon and movable :under 10 the shirt to engage a portion adjacent to the neckband.

8. In combination with a neckband expanding device, a wrinkle eliminating mem- V ber arrangedthereon and embodying a fin- 110 ger pivotally mounted and movable under a portion of the shirt adjacent to the neckband.

9. In combination with a neckband expanding device, a wrinkle eliminating mem- 115 ber arranged thereon and embodying a finger lying adjacent to the plane of the bot tom of the expanding device, and a rotary post on which said finger is mounted, the finger being movable under a portion of the 120 garment adjacent to the neckband.

10. The combination with a neckband expanding device, of means carried thereby and. movable beneath a portion of a shirt adjacent to the neckband for smoothing the 1 surface of the shirt.

CHARLES L. BRALEY.

Witnesses: 7

CHARLES D. MANSON, H. A. BITTER. 

